non-binary gender

I’ve just had another filing morning – yawn, yawn. (For new visitors to my blog, that means tucking an accumulation of snippets and ideas into files on different medical ethical topics which might or might not become novels one day.) So I thought I’d share some of the news items with you and throw out a few thoughts for you to ponder or not as you feel so inclined. I’ve supplied links for extra information if you’re interested. No pressure.

Over here, the number of children under 10 being referred to gender identity clinics has quadrupled in the past five years – figures showed that of the 2,016 referrals for children between the ages of 3 and 18, no less than 165 were under 10. (stats from the Gender Identity Development Service – the NHS’s only such facility)

Two young British men (Hayden Cross and Scott Parker – one 21, one 23) have gone public about putting their gender reassignment on hold until they’ve given birth. Both were born female, both have been living as men for a number of years.

And now there’s talk of transgender women receiving donated wombs. It’s a complicated enough process in biologically female patients, with significant risks to mother and fetus during pregnancy. But those who are born male have other issues to contend with such as an inadequate pelvis for giving birth naturally.

A hotter topic seems to be the growing number of transgender people who are seeking reversals, quoting crippling levels of depression and suicidal thoughts, but this development is being kept very quiet according to Prof Miroslav Djordjevic who runs a clinic in Belgrade. Some specialists fear that money plays a part in this with patients accepted for reassignment as long as they can supply the requisite cheque without adequate psychological evaluation and counselling.

Q. What do you feel about
– the move to have non-gender specific loos and forms and facilities?– a lower age limit for reassignment?– young people who’ve started to transition wanting to call a halt to have babies while they still can?
– those subsequently wanting to reverse the process?
– transgender women having a womb transplant and giving birth?

Genes and inheritance

The Chief Medical Officer has advocated DNA gene sequencing for every cancer patient in Britain to prevent misdiagnosis, needless hospital visits and ineffective chemotherapy. Testing can correctly identify not just the actual illness but also specific mutations which play a significant role in the success of treatments. On the face of it it’s a big ask: more than 350,000 people are diagnosed with cancer annually and at the moment each DNA test costs around £600. But centralising the testing would reduce the individual costs and personalising the drugs used should speed up treatment and save the NHS a lot of money.

Charlotte Raven was unaware that there was Huntington’s Disease in her family until her father – newly officially diagnosed himself – told her when she was 36 and already had one child. Now aged 48, she’s had symptoms for 7 years and estimates she has at best 10 years to live. She has two children both of whom have a 50% chance of inheriting the illness.

Q. What do you feel about– the proposal to gene sequence every cancer patient?
– the potential discrimination in favour of cancer patients when other disciplines are seriously strapped for cash?– having the definitive test for a crippling inherited disease yourself? – the optimal age to tell a child they have a 50% chance of inheriting a degenerative condition?

Fertility

According to research led by a Hebrew university which tracked over 40,000 men, since 1970s sperm counts have fallen by almost 60%. These findings have been likened to the canary in the coalmine – indicative of changes in society and the environment that are damaging health far beyond fertility. Just what should we be doing about chemical pollution, stress, obesity, tight underpants?

A British-born Sikh couple, Sandeep and Reena Mander, whose parents came to this country from Punjab, have launched legal action against the adoption service in their county, Berkshire, after being refused permission to adopt a white child because of their ‘cultural heritage’. The council have only white babies on their register. This professional couple are in their early thirties and have already undergone 6 years of fertility treatment (privately financed to the tune of c£150,000) unsuccessfully. And they have the backing of their local MP – the prime minister, no less! They have now been cleared to adopt in the USA – another extremely expensive procedure.

The senior council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists – without balloting its members – has voted by a majority to decriminalise abortion at any stage of a pregnancy on the grounds that it has a responsibility to protect women’s health by ensuring access to key services. It isn’t, however, advocating changing the current 24-week cut off period for abortions; rather it seeks to have the restrictions governed by professional regulations not the criminal law.

Q. What do you feel about
– the implications of falling fertility? Should society be being more proactive in your view? If so, how?
– infertile couples incurring massive expense trying to have a baby?
– adoption agencies discriminating in terms of ethnicity, faith, geography, etc?
– the availability and legality of abortion?
– the risks to women of inducing abortions at home?
– medical tourism?

Not to mention all sorts of stories and news and stats on NHS resources, performance targets, shortage of health care professionals … never any shortage of material to fire the grey cells and indignation, and get the creative juices flowing. What if …? Supposing …? Imagine if …

PS. I’ve done my best to check various sources but please do post a comment if you have more information that runs counter to the brief synopsis I’ve offered.